ATTACKING ALL OF WAR ON POVERTY AND NEW DEAL INCLUDES ENDING AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT AND TITLE 1 EQUAL PROTECTION LAWS SURROUNDING SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN.

To understand why Obama's budget will further undermine the Federal agency for special needs funding----look to how Bush and his No Child Left Behind was an unfunded mandate----in other words---you load all kinds of requirements onto a program and then do not fund them so that the program fails to meet objectives and is termed 'unsuccessful' or a failure. See how underserved schools are being closed by this same method----Bush created NCLB with no funding so that underserved schools had no way to meet these terms----so now they declare them failing and close them. That is what Obama is doing to special needs K-12. As I stated public education fell under attack with Reagan/Clinton and neo-liberalism so all Federal education agencies are deeply underfunded. So, when Obama keeps special needs funding the same as 8 years of Bush----he is continuing the starving of these Federal agencies. Below you see the University of Michigan speaking to this years ago. Maryland Governor O'Malley did the same thing in Maryland. Tuition climbed in Maryland through earlier terms and the Thornton Bill fought to protect funding for Baltimore public schools was left without COLA increases since it passed and O'Malley did the same----he sold the idea he was funding Baltimore schools by keeping the funding the same. We all know Thornton Bill is so underfunded as to be a shell of itself and no doubt Hogan will find excuses to cut more. They goal in Maryland is to end state funding for public schools altogether----so, special needs is going.... going. This article written late in the Bush years shows that a progressive policy from 1975 failed to be given the COLA and funding throughout the Reagan/Clinton years and of course Bush with some states following suit. For those thinking Clinton could not do this because of a Republican Congress-----Federal money has always been fungible and it could have made to to these programs as it should have with a super-majority of Democrats and Obama in 2009. Rather, Clinton neo-liberals chose to control defunding and gutting this Federal special needs agency with corporate private non-profit outsourcing---- BYE BYE SPECIAL NEEDS SAY CLINTON NEO-LIBERALS! Meanwhile, for-profit education corporate fraud of a trillion dollars occurred during the Clinton/Bush Administrations and continues now under Obama. Plenty of money to steal---not enough to send to the classrooms. The frustration with public schools comes from this defunding---not because public education is a bad idea. Maryland is tops in what is described below---we simply have no universities or public sector providing this kind of research data.SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION FUNDING FOR SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION: The special education system in the United States is one of the most heavily-regulated and under-funded of all federal education mandates (http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/16_03/Prom163.shtml).

According to National Association of State Boards of Education when IDEA was created in 1975, the legislation included the goal that 40 percent of the extra costs of the inclusion of special needs children into regular classrooms would be covered by the federal Government, but according to the 2002 budget the government has only provided 18% of the extra costs for special education and it has been up to the states and local governments to foot the rest of the bill (http://www.nasbe.org/Educational_…/Policy_Updates/10_12.html).

There is not nearly enough funding for these children that need it the most. In order to havegood teachers who care about their students there needs to be more funding put into special needs education. Not enough teachers today are being trained in special needs education. If more teachers are trained and more inclusion of these childrenoccurs, then it would be easier to get the funding for special needs because the children would already be included into a regular classroom setting. Other states and school districts seem to agree with this discrepancy in cost due to the federal government’s forgetfulness to pay 22% more than they currently are, some of these states are taking action against the government, but still some are not doing their part to ensure children with special needs receive the funding they need to continue their education in the proper way. Wisconsin law,for example, mandates that the state reimburse local school districts for 63% of the cost to educate children in special education, but the state has not met this commitment for nearly a decade, and special education costs have increased at a rate of 6.3%

It is in the state law to help these children and to fund their special education needs. Wisconsin as a state is not doing to their part to ensure success for all students. The federal government is obviously not willing to help these children either, andif every state followed in Wisconsin’s footsteps, there might not well be a special education program in any classroom across the United States. Proper funding is a large part of what can make or break special education. Proper funding can providegreat care and teachers to these kids, and if that funding continues to not be sufficient, it can hurt these children in the long run. According to the Governor’s Budget on Special Education funding in California in 2003-2004, it proposes that the total expenses would increaseapproximately $215 million dollars up to a total of $4.4 billion in 2005-2006, also under this proposal the General Fund support for special education would increase 4.9% (http://www.lao.ca.gov/…/e…/ed_08_Special_Education_anl05.htm ). Also under this proposal the General Fund support for special education would increase 4.9% This proposal sounds promising, and that is exactly what the governors of these states want you to think. Proposals from the governor always sound wonderful, and seem like they are going to work for everybody, and everyone will be happy with the results. If you take it at face value, all it is just aproposal, it’s not a promise, just a guideline. Unfortunately, California along with many other states are not even close to this guideline. According to an article on Special Education News in California, the state of California and the California Schools Boards Association which representednearly 1000 county education agencies and school districts, reached a final agreement to reimburse school districts for $520 million they have spent over the last 20 years to educate students with special needs, funds which were largely paid out of pocket

(http://www.specialednews.com/…/statesnews/CAfunds111500.html). What does this say about the state of funding for special needs students in our classrooms? California and Wisconsin are both holding back funds to help these children, and more needs to be done to put pressure on these states to produce this money and give more to education. Children are the future of this country, special needs or not, everyone can have a chance to reach success if they are just given the chance to do so. Even though the schools were reimbursed for their funds spentout of pocket, the settlement figure is only slightly more than half the $1.1 billion dollars the CSBA originally claimed the schools were owed (http://www.specialednews.com/…/statesnews/CAfunds111500.html).

These states are getting off easy, more needs to be done to ensure each special needs child hasa chance for a proper education, no matter what school district or state they are in. One of the few states to take action against the lack of proper funding for special education was Michigan. In Durant v. State Board of Education, 244 taxpayers representing 225 school districts sued the State for allegedly underfunding special education programs and services by hundreds of thousands of dollars (www.lawyersweekly.com)

These are just three states where major problems in special education funding have occurred. All three of these states (California,Michigan and Wisconsin) have been cheated by the State system for funds that are dearly needed for the proper education of special education children. What needs to be done to ensure that the withholding of funds for specialeducation doesn’t continue for more children throughout the United States? The federal government needs to step in and take charge of where this money is going. They need to enforce these laws throughout the entire country and make sure every state is doing what needs to be done so that children everywhere, disability or not, can have a positive, effective school experience.

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Below you see some short descriptions of what life for special needs used to look like before War on Poverty Equal Protection for People with Disabilities. They were warehoused or never sent to school. The funding that was fully supported for two decades moved special needs education into every school as was the Constitutional requirement and it assigned specially trained teachers to see that these students received the same broad public education as all students and a record number of special needs attended college and were hired by corporations in mainstream jobs. Had this funding not occurred---as is happening now-----you can read what some people living before 1960s remember existed for special needs children and how that transitioned out in the 1970sUntil Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children act (Public Law 94-142) in 1975, kids with disabilities didn't even have a right to a free, appropriate public education. Some districts in some states, often because they were pressured by parents, organized special education classes. But they were often a haphazard grouping of all the students who were different in some way, including kids who did not have cognitive delays. Often people with hearing loss, for example, were felt to be "slow learners" because they had speech problems (you can't learn to articulate if you can't hear the difference in sounds) and they had trouble learning the material that the teacher talked about. My sister has Down syndrome, and when she was born in 1965, the doctors called her a "mongolian idiot" and suggested that our parents institutionalize her, because she wouldn't ever be able to even take care of her personal needs. So that's an example of how even well-educated people in the 60s and 70s had low expectations of people with disabilities. (By the way, my sister can read well - her favorite author is Stephen King! Her math skills are not as good. She lives in a group home, has a job that she loves, has a boyfriend and many other friends, and has a very happy life.) I began teaching special education classes in the 1970s, and I had classes where the students ranged in age from 6 to 17. Most of the students were what was then called "educable" or "trainable mentally retarded," but I also had a student who was mentally ill (paranoid schizophrenic) simply because there was no place for him to go to school. And I had to fight with my district because they placed a little girl with an average IQ in my class, simply because she needed leg braces and crutches to walk! Eventually they agreed to let her go to a regular first grade class, but many people believed that she needed to stay with "those poor little handicapped kids." So much has changed since those days, mostly for the good. (Remember, that was also the era in which it was completely legal to deny voting rights to people because of their race, to segregate schools by race, and to legally discriminate against people according to race as well as disability.) But you are still bearing the burden of the low expectations and poor education you received, and I am sorry for that. You obviously have learned some good skills, though, and I hope that you are having a life with plenty of personal satisfaction. Remember that it is never to late to learn, and while we can't go back and undo what happened to you 30 or 40 years ago, you can still move forward. You have the skills and initiative to post your questions here, which demonstrates that you have the abilities and the motivation needed to be a life-long learner, despite your unfortunate school experiences. Comment from Kathy I am 52 years old . I am asking God for the courage to slay the lie that I am stupid . When I asked my mother "what was it they said was wrong with me?" Her reply "you were just lazy" I was often in a closet like room with 10 or 12 students . We made rock candy , they made me wear a headset piping background noise into my ears while I attempted to read and answer questions . All though I had no outward physical appearance I can remember looking around the classroom at other disabled people and thinking because I looked normal on the outside "I might be able to hide my broken self". I took my important senior classes in summer school the year prior to Senior year fearful I would fail . When I attempted a class in Community College with in the 1st week the teacher commented on my paper in front of the entire class my lack of proper Writing and English skills . I was so embarrassed I never returned to school. Although I have raised 2 children and been married for 24 years and have accomplished many things . As for the "lazy" comment I have held a job since I was 16 and aside from 2 years I took off I have always worked . Some days I realized I missed pain and some days I realize I've missed much of life's excitement . However , when it come to compassion and love for broken hearts I am gifted . For this road we walk is a treacherous one and I do believe Christ is healing us all. Not sure ill figure out the schooling at this stage of life but pray for revelation that "I can learn in the traditional sense " Comment from Judy it was all full they put you in this little room right be side the office with only a few chairs ,they gave you the answer if they didn,t want to mess with you .they didn,t teach you any thing .or get you in front of a class to get you to read knowing you could,nt they just didn,t care . for the kids to day i pray it is better . yes i had a learning disability but i,m here to say and not a shamed i was 26 years old be for i could read a paper tell time count money or math and now i can do all that and more because i found some one that cared to teach me . we , you and others you you can learn to just put your mind to it . one more thing i didn,t find out i was hard hearing (deaf un till 1993 so those who have a hard time learning don,t give you can learn just like the rest up just a little harder for us . god bless those who be live in them self keep it up and i learned to use a computer with no help . what i,m guess i ,m trying to say is you are no driffent from other good luc Comment from Steak I am a 1967 high school graduate and my rememberances of special ed classes was horrific. In one classroom with a windowless door shut all day,25to 30 students from eighth to twelve grade sat all day and acted like pure d fools. Whatever teacher they mustered up for that day always had a petrified look of helplessness on his or her face. On a rare oppotunity when the door was opened the students were beating on desks, cursing at the teacher and just utter chaos. A student who was a bit slow back then really had no special help, only to isolate them from the rest of the public education system. In all four years of high school they learned nothing at all and when time to graduatre were left to fend for theirselves. Things have changed a great deal since then. Thank god. I was a special education teacher during the late seventies. I don't know where you went to school but most of my students were mainstreamed and eventually returned to the regular classroom. As always, it depends on the teacher, students, and parents as stakeholders. I hope that you have since found some help or support groups for individuals with learning disabilities. Comment from Ginny I was a special education teacher during the late seventies. I don't know where you went to school but most of my students were mainstreamed and eventually returned to the regular classroom. As always, it depends on the teacher, students, and parents as stakeholders. I hope that you have since found some help or support groups for individuals with learning disabilities. Comment from Dolphin Mama Special Education was non existent at the time. Before that time, children with severe special needs were put into institutions, and children with mild needs were looked over. Special education wasn't designed until 1975 with the Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 94-142).

_____________________________________________Below you see what is happening in Baltimore as charter schools and even our public K-12 have principals so bound by stripped budgets that they cannot accommodate special needs students. The model that places schools as businesses running efficiently and cost-effective does not recognize equal protection----it grabs only the best of students that are easiest to attain high scoring. As Diane Ravitch states below----THIS IS NOT LEGAL. In Baltimore it is the MD ACLU leading this effort and they along with the NAACP should be leading the effort to protect these children. This happens in Baltimore to largely black underserved schools because these are the majority of schools but the same is happening in white underserved schools and it is coming to middle-class schools. The only schools in Baltimore having what is required by law are Roland Park and Mt Washington public schools----both in affluent communities. Remember, Wall Street is pushing to have 90% of Americans in poverty with the end of the middle-class so as the stats show-----most public school children are coming from families at or near poverty. That means this dismantling effects almost all American families. It is happening not because America/Maryland does not have the funds----it is happening because Clinton neo-liberals are allowing all the funds to be lost to corporate fraud----giving it as corporate subsidy----and ending the collection of all corporate and wealth taxes. WE CAN EASILY TURN THIS AROUND AND FUND ACCORDING TO THE US CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS. It is no secret that Race to the Top creates the very school structures to end all equal opportunity and access education and that pols know the legislation they are passing is written to allow this to happen as best they can. Allowing charters to have data shielded from public view is illegal policy that simply needs to be challenged in court. This is why in Maryland the ACLU has a director that works against these civil liberties-----Most special-needs students drop out of charter schools by third grade:

report General students from kindergarten to third grade are retained by the privately operated schools at a slightly higher rate than district schools, according to the study report by the Independent Budget Office released Thursday.

Richard Harbus for New York Daily NewsThe Innovative Manhattan Charter School on Delancey St.

City charter schools lose a whopping 80% of special-needs kids who enroll as kindergartners by the time they reach third grade, the report says. A whopping 80% of special-needs kids who enroll as kindergartners in city charter schools leave by the time they reach third grade, a report by the Independent Budget Office released Thursday shows. But the publicly funded, privately operated charter schools, which enroll 6% of city students, hold on to general education students at a slightly higher rate than district schools, according to the study, which covered retention rates for kindergarten through third grade. The report followed students from 2008 to 2011.Joe TabaccaCharter school leaders and families gather to show support on the steps of City Hall. Critics have said for years that charters push out needy kids and serve fewer difficult students. About 70% of students attending charter schools in the 2008-2009 school year remained in the same school three years later, compared with 61% of kids at district schools.Critics have said for years that charters push out needy kids and serve fewer difficult students. Overall, just 9% of charter school students have special needs — much lower than the citywide average of 18%.New York City Charter School Center CEO James Merriman said the study included a sample of just 25 charter students with special needs and that charters’ overall retention rates were good. District schools also had a tough time holding onto special-needs kids in the time period covered during the report. Just half who enrolled in traditional public school as kindergartners remained in the same school at the end of grade three. New York City Charter School Center CEO James Merriman said the study included a sample of just 25 charter students with special needs and said the charters’ overall retention rates were good. “The narrative that we attrit all kinds of kids at a greater rate just turns out to be false,” said Merriman. “That is really amazing, given that opponents have been so adamant about it.”

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Below you see what is happening as Obama and the Federal agencies tasked with enforcing these Federal rights are simply ignoring them. Lawsuits grow-----parents and local governments expend money in these lawsuits with the idea that soon all that will stop. DO YOU KNOW IF THE MARYLAND STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TOOK THESE CLAIMS TO COURT-----AND THEY TOTALLY IGNORE ALL PUBLIC JUSTICE ISSUES----THAT THEY WOULD WIN FOR THESE PARENTS BECAUSE WHAT IS HAPPENING IS ILLEGAL! This shows how the early stage of skills development for special needs children needed for them to go to college and enter mainstream employment----is disappearing.Why Parents File IDEA Complaints, LawsuitConflicts Causing Parents to File Formal Complaints

Updated July 16, 2013. Special education disagreements happen. Parents of children with learning disabilities may sometimes disagree with how schools manage their children's programs. Fortunately, many of those disagreements can be resolved informally. When problems are severe, parents may need to take formal actions to get them resolved. Learning the top conflicts that cause parents to file formal complaints or take legal actions against school districts can help you determine if you need to do the same. 1. Failure to Communicate - Teachers and Staff Not Reporting Progress to Parents When teachers and school staff do not share progress reports with parents, conflicts can arise. Failure to communicate can be caused by:

Failure to agree upon what will be communicated, how, and when;

Parents and / or teachers misunderstanding what was agreed;

Forgetfulness;

Lack of classroom support needed to implement the plan;

Lack of cooperation from the child to follow his part of the plan;

A teacher agreeing to implement a plan she could not realistically implement;

Unreasonable expectations from parents;

In rare instances, teachers or school staff may not implement a plan because of willful non-compliance or negligence;

2. Difficult Communication With Schools - Hostility Between Parents, School Staff Conflicts are worsened when parents and school staff are hostile with each other. When parents' and teachers' behaviors become disrespectful and angry, relationships can become so strained that the child can suffer emotionally and academically. Some reasons hostile relationships can develop include:

Parents and/or teachers do not respect each other;

Teachers, administrators, or parents refuse to make changes to accommodate the child;

Parents make unrealistic demands in an angry, confrontational manner;

Parents or teachers feel they are not valued, their input is not wanted, and that the child is not receiving an appropriate education; and

The school or home environment is negative, unsafe, rigid, or nonsupportive.

3. Failure to Provide Instruction and Services - School Does Not Implement IEP Failure to provide specially designed instruction, implement an IEP, or provide related services required on an IEP is a frequent reason parents file formal complaints against school districts. Failure to implement an IEP may involve:

Students not receiving related services such as speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or other services listed on the IEP.

4. Failure to Provide Equal Access to School Programs and Services When schools fail to provide equal access to programs and services such as extra-curricular activities, sports programs, or access to advanced courses with reasonable accommodations, parents may file complaints. In many cases, such problems are covered under Section 504. In some cases, however, denial of access to school programs and services can fall under IDEA. ____________________________________________

As the article shows----special needs children are being forced from charters and then end in public schools were tiered funding and school choice are making it almost impossible for parents of special needs to find the right school and certainly this happens rarely in their own neighborhoods. This is how Texas lowered its number of special needs in public schools decades ago. Regular teachers are now handed IEPs for special needs----a huge rise in time needed for administration with increasing class size and testing and evaluation requirements. All this spells----IT ISN'T GOING TO GET DONE AND YOUR POLS KNOW THIS! The unfunded mandate strikes again as it is only meant to create the conditions for teachers and administrators wanting to be rid of special needs children and parents becoming frustrated with what is available in public schools. THIS IS THE ONLY GOAL OF THIS RACE TO THE TOP AND INCLUSION POLICY.Transition Planning for Students With IEPsBy Kristin Stanberry The transition from high school to young adulthood is a critical stage for all teenagers; for students with learning disabilities (LD), this stage requires extra planning and goal setting. Factors to consider include post-secondary education, the development of career and vocational skills, as well as the ability to live independently. The first step in planning for a successful transition is developing the student's transition plan. A transition plan is required for students enrolled in special education who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). In this article, we will define and describe transition planningand how it can be utilized to maximize your teenager's future success.What is a Transition Plan?A transition plan is the section of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) that outlines transition goals and services for the student. The transition plan is based on a high school student's individual needs, strengths, skills, and interests. Transition planning is used to identify and develop goals which need to be accomplished during the current school year to assist the student in meeting his post-high school goals.When Should Transition Planning Begin?The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 04) requires that in the first IEP that will be in effect when the student turns 16 years of age, his annual IEP must include a discussion about transition service needs (some states may mandate that the process start even earlier). A statement of those needs, based upon his transition assessment and future goals, must then be written into his IEP. IDEA 04 mandates that the annual IEP meeting focus on more specific planning and goal setting for the necessary transition services. Factors to be included are: academic preparation, community experience, development of vocational and independent living objectives, and, if applicable, a functional vocational evaluation. The agreed upon plans must then be documented in the student's IEP. The law also requires that a statement of the student's transition goals and services be included in the transition plan. Schools must report to parents on the student's progress toward meeting his transition goals.The IEP team may begin discussing transition services with the student before he turns 16, if they see fit. If the IEP team hasn't begun to focus on transition planning by the time your child turns 16, it is important for you, as the parent, to initiate that process.Why is Transition Planning Important?It isn't enough to simply be aware that teenagers need guidance to transition successfully from high school to the next phase of young adulthood; concrete action steps must be taken to guide and prepare teens for college and/or a career, and for independent living. Without this guidance, students with learning disabilities often fail or flounder in high school and beyond. Consider these sobering statistics:

Over 30% of children with learning disabilities drop out of high school. (Source: 28th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2006)

Only 13% of students with learning disabilities (compared to 53% of students in the general population) have attended a 4-year post-secondary school program within two years of leaving high school. (Source: National Longitudinal Transition Study, 1994)

Transition services, provided by knowledgeable educators and community resources, can be tailored to a student's goals and strengths and provide him with options and plans for his future. Transition services offer students with learning disabilities hope for the future._____________________________________________Below you see an article from British Columbia that shows exactly what is happening in the US. We used to be the best in the world with special needs education and now of course we are at the bottom of developed world nations----Mexico is having the same reforms with the same reactions from citizens.Baltimore County has a functioning public school system while Baltimore City has a privatized and outsourced mess. This is thanks to Johns Hopkins and Clinton neo-liberal Governor O'Malley who have tag-teamed to make Baltimore City the platform for the most privatized and corporate K-12 in the nation. You won't see these kinds of articles in Baltimore because all of the Baltimore media, labor and justice organizations are captured and silent as Hopkins sends the city to a third world level of education----- Baltimore County knows this Baltimore platform will expand all over Maryland if left to continue to develop. Below you hear teachers shouting what we all know-----there is no proper readiness for teachers for an inclusion of special needs into mainstream classrooms and regular teachers have no training or time to spend with these children. What the school board, City Hall, and the governor know is that these special needs children will be allowed to sit and play or simply kept quiet ------ In Baltimore City it is far worse as this inclusion is happening in underserved schools were teachers are far more stressed and discipline is a major time factor. We are seeing Baltimore special needs children in large numbers being bullied out of school by these school conditions.THAT'S A WIN SAYS OUR CORPORATE BALTIMORE CITY SCHOOL BOARD. THE GOAL IN BALTIMORE CITY WITH JOHNS HOPKINS IS TO RAISE SCHOOL TEST SCORES BY GETTING RID OF ALL THE CHILDREN THAT COST MORE TO EDUCATE!This is exactly what is happening in Baltimore!

(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)As B.C. teachers and the government continue to square off over class size and composition, some question whether B.C.'s special education system even exists."There really are no special education teachers in the system at all anymore," says Pat Mirenda, a University of B.C. professor and expert in special education and inclusion.

Mirenda says B.C. used to a be a leader in special education, but now most of those experts have retired, gone back into the regular classroom, or moved up the management chain in the education system.Now, Mirenda says the one-year teaching training program at B.C. institutions certifies all teachers to teach everything.

"So I can be a science nerd who went through [the] secondary teacher education program and my dream is to teach Science 10 or Physics 11 and the only job I can find is Grade 3 and that's what I teach," she says."And at the most, they've probably had one class and it's basically tiptoe through the disabilities."The lack of expertise and resources for special needs education means that exclusion still exists in high schools.Kim Pemberton's daughter Hannah finished Grade 12 last year. She has a learning disability and obsessive compulsive disorder.'They weren't really planning to teach to her.'-Kim Pemberton, mother of a special needs student"I had some teachers tell me that they weren't really planning to teach to her, that she was just there for the social experience," Pemberton says. "In my experience the majority [of teachers] don't even teach to the special needs. They leave it to the aide to do it."Educational assistants also lack trainingHowever, the aides, or educational assistants, often don't have the training or expertise in special education to deal with the more complex teaching cases.

"A lot of EAs that are working out there have never been trained formally," says June Kaiser, who worked more than a decade as an educational assistant and serves as president of CUPE local 716 in Richmond."If you breathed on a child at some point, you were trained. That's really coming back to haunt them now."'If you breathed on a child at some point, you were trained.'- June Kaiser, former educational assistantKaiser says the resource teachers who are there to support teachers and educational assistants also don't have adequate knowledge."They're generally the youngest teachers in the program. The older teachers have all vacated that position because it is such a hard position."University of B.C. professor Pat Mirenda says B.C. used to be a leader in special education, but now lags behind. (Shiral Tobin)Mirenda says B.C. has a long way to go to achieve an inclusive education system."The funding for education has been dramatically eroded in this province for the past couple of decades and the kids with special needs have been the ones that have most dramatically suffered," she says. "And now the kids with non-special needs are starting to suffer as a result."